i’m going up the Pentlands tomorrow to clear out the cobwebs. Now i’ve never been there and i’ve heard the Reservoir Run (?) is fairly sedate.

Anyone got any handy links/maps/advice before i go up there. Starting at the Balerno end at the reservoir end and i’ve not really done any off road in a while so any help would be great 😀

Pentlands Trail Map

The routes around the reservoirs are generally just landrover track or even tarmac. Green Cleugh & Maidens Cleugh are easy enough and more interesting if your feeling more adventurous.

Oi! That’s moi map!

If you go to the Ranger office at Harlaw, you’ll be able to pick up a map which shows some of the larger/more recognised routes.

How are you getting out to Balerno? I can explain it all from there.

taking the car to this car park at the Ranger Centre

Druidh, did you put that map together?! Looks like you know the place like the back of your hand! Never been before, but I need to stop going to 7 Stanes and make the effort to go one day.

4 Resevoirs Simples Loop

Nice easy route, do it clockwise for an easy intro, or anti-clockwise, for a couple of climbs to test yourself.

Never been there, even thouhg it’s 20mins down the Em9. With this wind and sun it could be dry for you.

Nick

Okeydokey…

From the car park, head through the main gate and keep straight on through a couple of open fields currently planted with cereals. When you get to a signpost, head left towards Glencorse. Go through two gates (2nd sign post at the 2nd gate) and up towards Maidens Cleugh. There are some wooden water-bars here which need to be hopped or bypassed. The bottom one is the largest. The track is stony and very dry at the moment. When the path starts to flatten out, pause a moment to look at the view behind you. The path then descends sligtly to another gate, overlooking Glencorse Reservoir.

Go through the gate and take the lovely, fast descent, at first through some muddy/peaty ditches but then over more loose gravel. There are a couple of stone water-bars here which you need to look out for as you’ll puncture if you hit them too hard. Follow the track all the way to the reservoir, where you go through a gate and meet the Glen Road.

Turn right and follow this tarmac road alongside Glencorse Resr. The water level is currently low, but you might still catch a glimpse of mink. Other than that, there are some Canada Geese in residence at the moment. When the road crosses a little causeway, look out (usually to the right) for a Grey Heron as he’s often in this area. The road climbs up to Loganlea Resr. then along its banks. When the tarmac ends, look for a signpost to Balerno.

Follow this track across the meadows. These get very soft when wet, but are great riding when dry. Over Johnstons Bridge and you’re into Green Cleugh. Pass the wee waterfall at Lovers Loup (look out for Peregrine Falcon) and ride through the narrow pass. Just before the pass opens out again, look for a small, gravel path coming down from the right. Push up this path (yes – I know some folk can ride it). Don’t worry if you miss it, just wait until you reach the next gate and you’ll see an even steeper path – push up this one instead.

You are now on the Black Hill. When the path levels out, stop for a breather and look around you. On a good day, you can see from Goat Fell on Arran, all the way across to Argyll, Ben Lomond, Ben More, Ben Vorlish, the Lawers Group and right up to Glenshee.

Now start on the Black Hill descent. Another one to be avoided in wet conditions but currently an absolute blast. Many folk rate this as the best track hereabouts. Either let the suspension absorb all the rocks or (like me on the rigid), pick your way through for more “cerebral” fun. When you get to a gate, go across/through it and across a little causeway.

Turn left at the end of the causeway and follow the track along the shore of Threipmuir Resr. When it’s about to enter a stand of trees, look sharply to the left and you’ll see a narrow band of singletrack. That’s your path along the shore and some rooty fun. This pops out at the dam, which you go up and over. Now turn left and follow the gravel track parallel to the dam until you see a little footbridge over the outflow. Cross the footbridge.

You now have a fast, wide, gravel track or some more rootiness. Guess which I recommend? Turn into the woods and just follow your nose across whichever option takes your fancy. These rooty detours pop out onto the gravel track again, but when they do so, just look for your next opportunity to dive in for laughs, laughs, laughs.

All the fun must, however, come to and end, so just cross the outflow form Harlaw Resr, ride along the top of the dam and you’ll find yourself at the Ranger Centre. Go along the tarmac road with the high blackthorn on your right and you’ll come back to the car park.

Get back to the car. Ponder all of those other tracks you saw heading off at various places and congratulate yourself. You’re now a Pentlander.

Yes AB – I put the map together. EUCC pinched it from my website (they didn’t ask). That’s actually a fairly early version as it has been significantly added to since. I decided against making it all public as some of the tracks (e.g. the Black Hill route mentioned above) were getting trashed in wetter conditions. Most of the regulars operate a sort of self-imposed ban when conditions are too soft, but not everyone is so responsible.

I have been known to share it when asked – and I still get contributions from other riders.

Can vouch for suitability right now – did most of that route today and enjoyed every minute (druidh – basically the same route ‘we’ did last week, I fancied the last bit you did after I bailed). Is it a mythical achievement to get all the way up the Black Hill ascent? (‘cos I didn’t! nearly but not quite)

Is it a mythical achievement to get all the way up the Black Hill ascent? (‘cos I didn’t! nearly but not quite)

I’m not a particularly strong climber but have just enough of both balance and stubbornness to beat it into submission occasionally. I usually manage it two or three times a year, usually in late summer when both it and me are in prime condition. I don’t think I did it last year though, too wet, and it’s looking pretty marbly in places from a wee trip down it a few weeks ago.

If you want any advice, don’t ever get your first clean on it. For me, it’s one of those climbs that once you do it, you’ll then know you can so you want to do it again – knowing you can makes the inevitable failures more painful, and keeps you going at it every time you’re up there. Too proud to push! 😕

LOL at Stu_N. I know that it’s currently beyond the ability of this 50 year-old weekend warrior, but there’s something about it that taunts me and I know that, one day, I’ll just have to do it.

I can get up the black hill ascent, which given my portliness means it can’t be too difficult. It is hard though – it’s very narrow so it’s easy to lose a little bit of concentration and let the front wheel wonder off line and that’s it. While it’s very steep in parts, it’s overall not that long, so your average weekender like me can just about survive till the top. I used to be able to do it pretty reliably, but the last few times have failed. So either it’s getting harder or I’m getting softer.

I’d say the climb on the other side of the valley would be close to a mythical achievement. (The one a bit to the north that takes you up to the oposite facing hill – you wouldn’t ordinarily want to go in this direction). Really steep, probably doable for some but way beyond me.

Brilliant map mate, some stuff on there I’d never heard of.

Yup, nice map druidh, not seen it before.

Was thinking of this thread (and other pentlands ones recently) when out tonight. I don’t think Black Hill and Puke Hill are as bad climbs as people make out, they just have a reputation that puts people off. Both are a case of choosing a comfortable gear and sitting and spinning. I can imagine it’d be tricky to restart on some of the sections of Black Hill, and it seems harder when it hasn’t rained for ages.

The 2 minute thing from gate to gate on puke hill was raised on here the other day, and I thought that sounded fast, but tonight decided I’d time it (for the first time) and did it in 2:10 (including a brief stop for a dog that decided it was going to stand in the way and bark). It wasn’t especially fast feeling or knackering though, and I certainly wasn’t racing it, so I suspect that many people would do it if they bothered to try. Another challenge might be from Water of Leith, up puke to the other side of the reservoir (top gate). Say, 15 minutes? I wouldn’t fancy that. 😉

I’m getting a bit worried. The OP hasn’t been on to tell us how it was. Do you think I should mount a search?

<opens window>

Can’t hear anyone screaming. He’s probably fine.

<closes window>

Pehaps we should go up anyway. If we find a body and a bike we bury the body and sell the bike on ebay/strip it for bits….

I was up there today and there were no corpses to be found. Rode from Bonaly towards Pistachio woods then over Maidens and down the Black Hill descent back to Harlaw. I saw a guy just starting out Black Hill as a climb instead of a descent – is there any point whatsoever in this?

LOL – we were talking about that the weekend before last. What indeed is the point of doing it that way round?

I can’t think why you would do it as a climb either…

I remember seeing a team do that on the Wan Dae adventure race as well – we were hammering down it the ‘normal’ way and they were struggling up it at no great pace. It might be worth a shot as an out and back if time were tight, but I suspect the guy today was just lost.

I saw a guy just starting out Black Hill as a climb instead of a descent – is there any point whatsoever in this?

I don’t mind it as a climb. It’s quicker and more of a challenge than going over Maidens to Glencorse then up the road and into Green Cleuch, then you can do the quick way down to Green Cleuch and down Beech Avenue to Red Moss, then Nail Trail towards Balerno.

Nail Trail? Is this the Rigg path by another name?

Black Hill as a climb instead of a descent – is there any point whatsoever in this?

Why not? Especially if it gets you where you want to be. It’s over-hyped as a descent, even more than the climb is.

I was up last night, I saw that deer again in Pistachio Way, it was looking pretty smug and seemed to have a big of lycra hanging from the corner of its mouth. Poor aslongasithaswheels, we’ll always remember you buddy.

Oh aye, Black Hill as a climb is pretty decent IMO, I’ve never quite got what the fuss is with it as a descent is, apart from the very last section which is nice, the rest always seems like it’s just an otherwise dull path with some rocks on it- certainly not bad at all but not amazing. But maybe that’s just me.